ABSTRACT
Over the past few years, plastics have made their way into every sphere of life ranging from households to the health industry. The increasing demand and popularity of these high-molecular-weight compounds owes to their high chemical resistance, durability, and ease to be moulded into any desired shape. But the major drawback associated with them is their recalcitrant nature, which leads to accumulation of tons of plastics every year in the environment. This presents a challenge to look for some alternate mode with similar properties. Bioplastics are the best replacement for plastics—they have similar features but with a degradative behaviour are an eco-friendly alternative. A variety of biopolymers can be employed to manufacture bioplastics, ranging from microbes to plants, which can be finally decomposed back to water, carbon dioxide and so on. Bioplastics are rapidly making their way into the market. Several companies such as Mitsubishi, Nippon, Shokusai, and Shimadzu are entering this field. The major challenge is the cost associated with the production, which calls for active and result-oriented research to achieve the goal of sustainable development.
